Heights No Solution Acrophobia
by inatepaz
Summary: Tag to season 3 episode 20. Where did Mac's fear of heights come from? In this story we travel back to Mac's childhood and a fateful day a couple of weeks before his 10th birthday. This story is about not being able to find a solution to a problem, but finding instead that friends can be family too. For my Emergency follower, there is a guest appearance by our favorite paramedic
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

_I've often wondered what could cause a very logical person like Mac, who can figure out a solution to any problem, to have a fear of heights and I've wanted to write a story about it. I read a wonderful story by Parisindy called Acrophobia the Jack Star about Mac and his fear of heights during a mission in Afghanistan with Jack where Jack learns of Mac's fear of heights. I allude to in my story so I encourage you to look it up and read it if you haven't already, I however had always pictured Mac's fear of heights starting when he was younger. I just didn't know how to introduce the idea. The episode, No Go + High Voltage + Rescue provided me the foundation from which to tell my story. So you may consider this a Tag to that episode plus a little AU. Finally for all my readers who know me from my stories about the old TV show Emergency there will be a guest appearance by our favorite L.A. County Paramedic who is now retired and helping out as an independent rescuer. Look for him in Chapter 3. As always, none of these characters belong to me. Finally please leave feedback so I know if folks like this story and want to see more, plus your comments feed the souls of us writers. Thanks in advance, now on with the show..._

_**Somewhere over South America, Present Day**_

The large C5 Galaxy Military Cargo plane was loud and uncomfortable, but to the 8 young adults who had been kidnapped and their 4 rescuers it was a haven of security that finally allowed them to relax and feel safe on their long trip home. After downing power bars and bottles of water, Ben, Isabel, and the 6 others quickly drifted off to sleep, stretched out on matts laid out on the floor of the cargo bay. The plane wasn't the most ideal form of travel, but considering the trama the 8 had been through, the fact that they no longer had their passports, and the desire to return them as quickly as possible to their families, it was the best option.

Riley and Bozer grabbed a couple of the sling seats lining the walls of the cargo plane toward front so they could talk without disturbing anyone. Mac opted to take a seat closer to the exhausted 8 so that he could keep an eye on them. He wanted to be there in case any of them woke, uncertain of where they were and possibly scared. True to her promise to look after the team, especially one stubborn blond headed genius, Desi approached Mac with a freshly opened bottle of water, "Drink up,"

"I'm fine," Mac said putting his hand up in a dismissive gesture.

"Sure you are, and I'm a high paid fashion model" Sitting down in the sling seat next to him, Desi tried a different tactic. "Look, it's just a bottle of water. It's not like I'm forcing you to get checked out at Medical when we get back, unless you give me any reason to."

Mac looked over at her with a small smile. He had no trouble imagining her as a model walking the catwalk in a form fitting long dress with a plunging neckline, "Thanks," he said as a slight blush crept up into his cheeks. He took the bottle and downed it in one long pull. "I guess I was thirsty."

They sat in quiet companionship as the plane droned on, At some point Desi started to softly hum and then she began to sing the song her mother use to sing to her when she was young and afraid. It wasn't until she was well into the 4th verse that she noted Mac's breaths had finally evened out and slowed down. Slowly standing up, she turned and looked down at the sleeping figure, "Took you long enough," she said with a slight smile.

Making her way toward the front of the plane where Bozer and Riley were quietly chatting, Desi settled down in the seat next to Bozer and leaned forward, "So, tell me more about Mac and this fear of heights. Jack mentioned that he didn't like heights and something about an incident when they were in Afghanistan where Mac was trapped on the side of a cliff with a sniper shooting at him during a bomb clearing mission that went bad, but I have a feeling there is more to it than that."

Bozer pursed his lips in thought and then leaned forward, glancing toward the back of the plane to where Mac sat.

"Don't worry about him waking up while we talk, he is out cold." Desi said reassuringly.

Bozer leaned back and sighed, "I don't know how much you know about Mac's life growing up."

"Not much," Desi replied. "Just that his mom died when he was 5 and his dad left him when he was 10 and that his grandfather basically raised him."

"Yeah, his grandfather was a great guy. Really stepped up once he found out what was going on."

"What do you mean, 'once he found out'," Riley asked. "I thought Mac's grandfather basically lived with him after his mom died."

"Well he did spend a lot of time there, especially when Mac's dad was 'away on business trips'. But when James was home then his grandad would come back down here to L.A. to take care of business or up to his cabin to get away for awhile."

"Yeah, I've heard of that cabin," Desi chimed in. "Jack told me about the couple of times Mac took him up there. It's some place way up in the mountains, very primitive, no electricity, no phones, no indoor plumbing."

"Yep that's the place," Bozer confirmed. "Mac's grandad would take Mac up there for a couple weeks during summer break. Mac loved it up there. He would also make a point of coming and staying with Mac for a couple weeks around all the major holidays. James really didn't do holidays very well from what I understand. I didn't really get to know him that well since he split for good shortly after I met Mac."

"Wait," Riley said looking slightly confused. "You met Mac in 5th grade, but Mac's dad left for good when he turned 10 years old. That would have put Mac in the 4th grade. Unless I'm missing something, that means James would have left before you met Mac."

"Yes, except for the fact that Mac skipped 4th grade." Bozer revealed. "Mac was a genius even back then. That was one of the reasons he got picked on so much, especially by Donnie. While Mac skipped a grade, Donnie was held back that same year. Being the youngest and the smallest in the class made Mac the perfect target. I tried to protect him as much as possible but I couldn't be with him 24/7. There were many Monday's when Mac would come to school with a black eye, or a split lip. He would always write it off as a 'science project gone wrong', So anyways, it was about 3 weeks before Mac's birthday and it had been raining all week. I invited Mac to come spend Saturday night at my place, but he said he was working on some project that had something to do with the stars and would probably be up all night gathering data with his telescope.

_**Mission City, home to a certain boy genius, March 2000**_

"Aww, come on Mac, we can stay up all night and play D&D or watch movies. My mom can make her famous pancakes!" Bozer had been walking beside his best friend as they made their way home from school on a particularly warm Friday afternoon in late February. The smile widened on his face and his eyebrows went up as he heard Mac's stomach grumble at the mention of his momma's famous pancakes. No one can turn those down. Besides, his friend could use some fattening up, the boy was way too thin. Bozer couldn't help but notice when they changed for Gym class that he could literally count all of his friend's ribs.

Mac wavered for a moment, Bozer's mom's pancakes were amazing and his food supplies were running critically low. He had used the last of the money his grandfather had given him as a Christmas present for groceries at the beginning of February. He had run out of peanut butter last week and he only had 7 power bars left. He was certain his dad would come home soon. If he could just make it till his birthday in 3 weeks then everything would be okay. Still, 6 out of 9 of the planets aligning together is a once in a lifetime event. He couldn't risk missing that. "Sorry Boze, that sounds great, but this weekend there's going to be a really cool celestial event and I want to try to record it with the camera I rigged to the telescope my dad gave me last Christmas. You see if I did my calculations right, 6 out of 9 of the planets in our solar system will be aligned on Saturday night. This is the closest we will get to a total alignment which won't occur till the year 2492. You see it's really rare because the planets' orbits don't all exist perfectly in the same plane. They are all tilted a little so that means the planets don't actually fall along a straight line in the sky as if it was a 2-D model. Since in reality the planets don't all orbit perfectly in the same plane, instead swinging around on different orbits in three dimensional space, sometimes a planet is a little above the plane and sometimes a little below, this is kind of a once in a lifetime event…" Mac who had become more and more animated as he went further in depth in his explanation suddenly went quiet. When he spoke again it was in an almost whisper, "I just wish he was here to see it in person." Then as if realizing he just said the wrong thing out loud, he forced a smile on his face and said with conviction, "He's going to be home any day now so I want to make sure I get this recorded so we can watch it together when he does."

Bozer didn't need to ask who "he" was. Mac's father was gone more often it seemed then he was home. Usually when Mac's dad was gone on one of his 'extended trips' his grandfather stayed with him, but Bozer hadn't see Mac's grandfather since shortly after Christmas.

Slightly worried Bozer probed his friend for more information, "How long has your dad been gone this time?"

Mac studied the ground intently, digging at a rock in the soil with the toe of his shoe. How much should he tell Bozer? Would Bozer tell his parents? Would the adults make him live someplace else like foster care? What if he wasn't there when his dad came home? Mac looked up and stared his best friend in the eyes, "You have to promise that you wont get all spazzed out and tell your parents or anyone else.."

Bozer crossed his arms, he didn't like where this seemed to be leading. It sounded like his friend needed help but was being his typical 'I can handle it' self. "Fine," Bozer said grudgingly.

"You have to promise, better yet pinky swear, that you won't say anything to anyone." Mac said, holding out his right hand with his pinky finger extended.

Bozer sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine, I swear not to say anything to anyone." Extending his pinky and hooking it to his friend's, they shook.

"My Dad left right before Christmas and was supposed to return right after New Years, like he normally does. I got a letter from him in mid January though, saying that something important came up with his work and that he was going to have to be gone a little longer than normal and that my grandfather would be coming to stay with me until he got back. He promised he would be home before my birthday, so I'm expecting him any day now." Mac explained.

Bozer was amazed at how his friends eyes could look hopeful, sad, and a little bit scared and angry all at one time. Bozer shook his head and sighed, "So your grandfather's been staying with you this whole time? I haven't seen him around."

"Well actually," Mac looked down at the ground again wanting to avoid the look he knew his friend was going to have when he told him the whole truth, " Granddad had to head up to his cabin early because a big snow storm was heading that way and was going to close off the pass. Nothing is getting through, not even the mail. They think the pass will be able to be cleared sometime in March."

Bozer stood there with his mouth open for what seemed like an eternity. When the ability to speak returned to him, it was in disjointed fragmented sentences, "You mean.. Two months… How… No one else…" Bozer shook his head, "Dude, why didn't you tell me you were all alone over there? I thought we were friends, best friends, that we had each other's backs."

"I.. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to have to lie to your folks. Besides, I can take care of myself. It's not like I haven't done it before when my dad would have to go out of town unexpectedly and my grandfather wouldn't be able to come up right away." Mac stated a little defensively.

"Dude, that was like 2 or 3 days at max, not 2 months. And don't give me that line about being able to take care of yourself, I've seen how skinny you've gotten. Now I know why. When was the last time you had a decent meal? And remember I've seen you try to cook, you can literally burn water."

"I get by." Mac said pouting a little. He couldn't help it if cooking was boring and he would start tinkering with things and then forget about whatever it was he was making and it inevitably burned. "Besides, as I said, my dad will be home any day now. If it will make you happy though, how about I come over for your mom's famous Sunday Brunch after you guys get back from Church?"

"Deal!" Bozer said with a huge grin. He would help his momma make a feast fit for a king and then insist that his friend take home the leftovers. "But don't make me come over there looking for you. 1 pm sharp, got it?"

"Got it," Mac said returning the smile. "See you then."

Both boys headed up the driveway to their respective houses and disappeared inside


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

_HI Everyone. First thank you for all those who have read chapter 1and a double thanks to those who left reviews. Although this is not my first story on Fanfiction, it is my first MacGyver story. I've been avidly reading all the other great MacGyver authors and longed to give it a go. In this chapter we get into a little more angst. I hope you enjoy it, and if you are so inclined to please leave feedback. As always I don't own any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them. _

_**Mission City, A Friday Evening in March 2000**_

A few hours after he and Bozer parted ways, Mac was just sitting down to eat his meager dinner consisting of one of his remaining power bars and an apple Bozer had given him from his school lunch when a bell chimed upstairs signaling a delivery from the pulley system he had rigged between his bedroom window and Bozer's. Running upstairs he opened his window and unhooked the basket that Bozer had sent over. Setting it down on his desk he opened it up and pulled out the contents. Inside were two roast beef sandwiches on homemade bread with all the fixings, a zip lock bag of carrots, 4 chocolate chip cookies, and a thermos of milk. Mac's stomach growled loudly in delight. There was a note at the bottom of the basket from Bozer telling Mac that he should eat one sandwich and half the carrots and cookies tonight and half tomorrow. He said he would also send extra food home with Mac when he came over on Sunday. He promised that he hadn't said anything to his parents. Mac turned over the paper and scrawled a quick note of thanks to his best friend and sent the basket back across the distance to Bozer's window.

After finishing his first full meal in several days, Mac decided to head up to the old abandoned quarry to scout out a good location to set up his telescope. It was starting to get dark already so Mac grabbed a flashlight and then pondered bringing his coat but decided against it, reasoning that he would be home before it got too late. Hopping on his bike he glided through the neighborhood streets. His journey took him through the middle class neighborhoods; past his school; past the strip mall with RadioShack, the Hobby Shop, and BlockBusters. He then crossed over into the proverbial 'wrong side of the tracks,' and he picked up speed. His arch nemesis, Donnie Sandoz, lived in this neighborhood and he had no desire to run into him. He quickly made it to the outskirts of town and into the wooded area leading to the old quarry.

Picking his way through the underbrush and the tall redwoods that grew there, Mac first headed to the treehouse he and his granddad and Bozer built. Locking his bike to the base of the tree he scrambled up the ladder and disarmed the booby traps that were set to keep unwanted visitors away. He wasn't going to stay long so he didn't bother to connect the battery to the lights but instead used his flashlight to find what he was looking for. Locating the small cooler in the corner he grabbed one of the bottles of water and the last beef jerky strip. He would eat the jerky on the way home for added energy. Throwing the flashlight, the water and the jerky into a small knapsack Mac quickly scrambled down the tree and headed north which would lead him to a small clearing near the rim of the quarry.

By the time Mac made it to his destination the Sun had set and since it was a New Moon, the area was almost pitch black, save for the soft glow of the MilkyWay above. This far out, not even the lights of Mission City polluted the sky. Mac made his way over to the quarry and sat down on the ledge, dangling his feet over the edge. He felt in awe of the vastness before him, the depths of the pit below and the expansiveness of the sky above. Sometimes he felt as if he could just reach out and touch the stars. Scanning the sky, he easily picked out Canis Major with Sirius being the brightest star in the sky. Next were the Twins, Gemini, with the stars Castor and Pollux. Finally Mac located the 6 lesser constellations, Auriga, Camelopardialis, Columba, Lepus, Monoceros, and Pictor.

When he was a lot younger, his mom use to bring him up here and she would tell him stories of faraway places and starships traveling through space to distant galaxies. After she died, he used to imagine that she was on a spaceship and that she was making her way back to earth and to him. He would sneak out after his dad would go to bed and come up here and stare at the sky to see if he could spot his mom's ship out amongst the stars. After several times of finding him asleep on the ledge of the quarry, his dad patiently explained to a then 6 year old Mac that his mother was dead, that she wasn't coming back, and anyway it would be impossible to see a spaceship in a constellation because they were too far away.

Wiping at the tears that had silently made their way down his cheeks, and then sniffing loudly to clear his runny nose, Mac failed to notice three figures walking up behind him until it was too late.

"Hey guys, look what we found, cry baby Angus MacGyver," said a cruel voice behind him.

Leaping up, Mac found himself surrounded on three sides by Donnie and his two goons.

The goons were laughing, encouraging Donnie on. "What's wrong, is the baby lost and all alone? Where's your little guard dog friend Bowzer?"

Mac tried to stand tall and look tough, but it was hard when the guys surrounding you were at least a head taller and outweigh you by 30 lbs. or more. "His name is Bozer," Mac declared, defending his friend.

"Aw how cute, the baby is trying to act all tough." Donnie laughed.

"Just leave me alone Donnie," Mac said as he tried to push past the taller youth.

Donnie was quicker though and grabbed a hold of Mac's arm and spun him around into the grips of goon number 1, "Where are you going baby genius?" laughed Goon 1 as he pushed Mac toward goon number 2.

"Yeah baby genius, where are you going?" Goon 2 sneered as he turned him around and held Macs arms firmly at his sides.

"Wouldn't want to leave now when we're just starting to have fun," Donnie said with an evil grin as he stepped up and landed a solid punch to Mac's ribs.

Mac cried out and tried to curl in on himself as Donnie landed a second blow in the same area but Goon 2 had a solid, bruising grip on his arms. Goon number 1 laughed and yelled encouragement, "Come on Donnie, hit him hard enough he pees his pants like the baby he is."

Goon 2 took exception to this, "I ain't going to hold him if he pees on himself, you hold him," he said as he pushed Mac toward Goon 1. Stumbling in the loose dirt Mac lost his footing and went down landing on his hands and knees. Donnie, looking to take advantage of the position in which Mac landed pulled back his leg to deliver a kick to his target's midsection. Mac, in a move of self preservation scrambled backwards. In a matter of seconds, the loose rock on the ground slid over the edge and into the darkness, caring the young boy with it.

Donnie and the goons stared at the spot where Mac had just been and then cautiously stepped closer to the ledge. Looking over the edge into the darkness, none of them could see the bottom.

"Shit!" Exclaimed goon 2.

"Damn, no one could survive a fall like that." said goon 1 shaking his head.

Donnie turned his back to the quarry and started walking back toward the forest and home, "Come on, let's get out of here. Kid shouldn't have been playing so close to a dangerous place so late at night."

_**Mission City, An unusually warm Saturday in March 2000**_

Consciousness returned slowly to Mac. The first thing he was aware of was pain. He remembered Donnie punching him a couple times so that would explain why his ribs hurt, but what about everything else? HIs ankle throbbed, his head hurt, his hands and the side of his face stung and felt raw, and he had various other aches in a multitude of spots on his body. He lay there on his back, which was also strange because he usually slept on his stomach, and took further stock of the situation. He noticed next that he was cold; he must have kicked his covers off. Not wanting to fully wake up and face the reality of the world and whatever harm Donnie and his goons had inflicted upon him this time, Mac blindly reached down to pull his covers up and his bed disappeared out from under him with what felt like gravel and larger rocks. His movement caused him to slide on the unstable surface and his eyes flew open in panic. Scrabbling at the rough surface for anything to stop his downward momentum Macs hands finally found purchase on some scrub brush.

The pain in his leg and his head, and well heck his whole body, screamed at him and he had to bite his lip in order not to scream back. He was certain that if he even breathed too deeply that he would slide further into oblivion. It was dark, he was all alone, he was cold, he hurt everywhere, and for the first time in his life Mac could not find any solution to the problem. His genius brain could not think of any way to get himself off the side of this cliff. Mac was terrified.

Mac spent the remainder of the night feeling sorry for himself, allowing silent tears to stream down his face and gather in a pool under his head. He wanted his mom, his grandfather, heck even his dad. He didn't want to die all alone on the side of this cliff, forgotten and abandoned by anyone he dared to love. When sunrise came he felt as if all his tears were spent and he would never be able to cry again. He felt empty and hollow inside, except for his bladder, it felt full, very full, and before he realized what was happening he felt a warm wetness soaking through his pants and running down his legs. Great, he peed himself, something more Donnie and his goons could tease him about.

To get his mind off of his embarrassment Mac slowly began to take stock of his surroundings. Not wanting to risk sliding any further he scanned to his right where the last vestiges of night were disappearing, across the clear open southern sky, to where the sun was slowly rising in the east. Being as it was the beginning of March and approaching the Vernal Equinox, the Sun would be at a 42 degree elevation which meant that it would be shining on him for the full day. Sunrise started at 6:39 A.M. and Sunset would be at 6:09 pm with the zenith at 12:42 pm. Sunburn was inevitable. Thankfully he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but his arms and face would be unprotected. Nothing he could do about that because if he moved to protect either one, he would surely fall and die.

Next there was a matter of food and water. He could go without food for a couple days, he had done so before, even Mahatma Gandhi survived 21 days without food. But water was another matter. A person could only last 3 to 4 days without water in an ideal situation, but he would be exposed to the sun and thus sweating, thus losing about 1 liter of fluid an hour. Unfortunately his backpack was up in the clearing at the top of the cliff and even if he had been wearing it, it would be on his back where he couldn't reach it anyway. There was nothing to do about the water situation, so if he didn't fall and die, he would most likely die do to dehydration.

No matter what Mac thought of, it would always lead to in all probability him dying. So for the second time in his life (the first one being when his mother died), he just shut down his brain and didn't think. He closed all the little compartments in his brain that kept all his useful information, hung up the "gone fishing" sign and shut down. Some part of him registered that the Sun had started to burn his fair skin and that it had become hot and tight. At some point he had stopped sweating. He knew that was bad, but he didn't care. The Sun set just as it always did and the temperature dropped. At first the coolness felt blissful but then he started to shiver and the rocks started to slide. He tightened up all his muscles into a deathgrip to that tiny bit of scrub brush, willing himself not to move.

For the first time all day he opened his eyes and was greeted by the vastness of the milky way and the stars his mother so loved. His heart which he thought had been emptied clinched in sorrow and longing but he had no tears to fall. "Mom," he croaked through a dry and parched throat. He ran his tongue over the blood that seeped from his cracked lips, savoring even that little bit of moisture. "Mom, I can't do this anymore, I'm tired, I don't want to be alone, I'm afraid. Please, please just come and take me away from all of this….. I miss you." He looked up to where his hand held fiercely to the little bit of brush that was preventing him from sliding and falling to his death. It would be so easy to just let go, let go of it all, the pain, the loneliness, the emptiness.

Then his eye was caught by a movement off to his right, a fluttering. Blinking his eyes a couple times he could make out the shape of a medium sized bird sitting on a small ledge. At first he thought sardonically, 'Oh great, the vultures have started to eye me as a potential meal.' Then the soft starlight lit up the bird's white belly and he recognized it as a Red Tailed Hawk. A small part of his analytical brain kicked in and thought how strange it was for a Hawk to just sit there and stare at him waiting for him to die. Usually Hawks swept in, snatched their prey up and then flew off to feast. He blinked a couple more times and when he looked again the bird was no longer there, but instead his mother sat there smiling at him. She had a soft blue glow around her and a nonexistent breeze gently blew her hair. 

"Mommy?" Mac tentatively asked.

"It's okay baby I'm here," her voice drifted over to him and wrapped around him, making him feel warm all over.

"Mom, I can't do it, I can't figure out the answer to the problem, I'm not smart enough. I can't find a way to get home."

"It's okay Angus, you don't have to know everything. Sometimes you just have to let others help you."

"No one's coming to help me, no one cares about me. I'm all alone. I'm tired of being alone. I'm.. I'm tired. I just want to let go. I just want to be with you."

"Oh honey, I'm right here. I'll always be here. Just hold on a little longer. Close your eyes and rest. I'll be right here watching over you."

"I miss you mommy… I miss.." Mac's eyes slowly slid shut as the stars in the sky twinkled above and a Red Tailed Hawk sat quite vigilance.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

_HI Everyone. Thanks again for the feedback and for all those who are reading this story. If any of my Emergency followers are reading this then here is what you've been waiting for, Johnny Gage makes an appearance. If I did the math correct the character of Johnny would be in his mid 50s. I have him retired from L.A. County Fire and working as an Independent Rescuer in Northern California. He has embraced his native american heritage and although I've never assigned a specific tribe to his character I use one word that according to the internet is Navajo, Atseeltsoii which means Hawk_._ As usual, I do not own any of the characters, just borrowing them._

_**Mission City, A warm Sunday in March 2000**_

The sun was already bright and high in the sky when Mac drifted toward consciousness again. He really didn't want to wake up but a loud piercing sound kept invading the quiet stillness around him. He listened, but refused to open his eyes. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure he could open his eyes at this point. The sun had burned and blistered his face and glued his eyelids closed. But he recognized the sound, it was the shrill skree of the Red Tail Hawk. If he listened harder he could hear the beating of the bird's wings as it would take off and then circle around and land on the ledge and then repeat the process. Then, as if very very far away he thought he heard a voice, a voice calling his name over and over again. As the voice became louder and more frantic a small shower of grit and pebbles rained down on his head eliciting a small terrified whimper.

When Mac didn't show up as he promised to the Bozer family brunch, his friend had a gut feeling that something was wrong and went searching for him. Bozer had found Mac's bike locked up at their tree house but no sign of Mac. When he made it up to the clearing by the quarry he found Mac's backpack, but again, no sign of Mac. And then this crazy bird started making a racket and diving at something down in the quarry. Fearing the worst, Bozer rushed toward the edge only to come skidding to a stop as the gravelly ground began to give way under him. Stepping back he dropped down to his stomach and inched slowly forward.

"Mac! Mac! It's me, Bozer! Mac can you hear me? Please dude, give me some sign you're still alive." Bozer was laying on his stomach looking down over the edge of the quarry at his best friend who was clinging to the side of an almost vertical surface

A small whimper followed by a single word, "Boze?" floated up from below and Bozer released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Mac! It's okay, I'll find a way to get you," he yelled as he edged further over the lip of the quarry sending more rocks and gravel skittering over the side.

"No," came Mac's frightened voice, "D.. Don't co..come any c..c..closer. I'll fall."

"Okay, okay," Bozer replied as panic started to creep into his voice. What was he going to do? Help, he had to go get help. But he didn't want to leave his friend. But he couldn't rescue him by himself. Making up his mind he called back down, "Mac, I'm going to go get some help. Just stay there.. what am I saying of course you're going to stay there… don't go anywhere… I mean hang tight… Ugh… you know what I mean. I'll be right back. I promise!"

With that Bozer scrambled away from the ledge and ran back into the forest toward their tree house. Dodging trees and jumping logs, he ran as fast as he could. Not paying too much attention, other than to what was immediately in front of him, he crashed into someone coming up the hill as he rounded a tree.

"Whoa there. You're going to wind up getting yourself hurt if you don't slow down a little," came the gentle voice of the man in front of him. "Where are you going so fast?"

"I got to get help!" Bozer replied frantically as he tried to get past the man blocking his path. "It's my friend, he fell into the quarry, I think he's hurt."

"Well now, just hang on there a minute. It looks like help's found you. I had a feeling that someone was in trouble up here. Why don't you show me where your friend is and maybe I can help," the man replied as he once again blocked Bozer.

This time Bozer paused to look up at the man standing before him. He was tall with long dark hair tied back in a braid. The man had dark brown eyes set into a tanned and weathered face. He wore a flannel jacket, jeans, and hiking boots, and best of all it looked like he was carrying climbing gear. Bozer gave him his best calculating stare, "Are you good at rescuing people off of cliffs?"

The man broke into a lopsided grin, "Well, you see, I'm the person they call in when everyone else has given up. Why don't you show me where your friend is so we can get him home where he belongs."

"This way," Bozer said as he turned and lead the way back up the hill.

"My name's John Gage, but everyone calls me Johnny. What do people call you?"

"I'm Wilt, Wilt Bozer. But, Mac calls me Bozer seeing as how we both don't like our first names."

"Mac, is that your friend in the quarry?"

"Yeah, his real name is Angus MacGyver, but he really doesn't like the name Angus."

Pretty soon they broke through the tree line and into the clearing. Bozer stopped and pointed to the spot that he had seen Mac, "He's over the side right there. Be careful though, the ground's pretty loose from all the rain we had. And there's a crazy bird that keeps flying around."

As if on queue a large hawk shot up from below the lip of the quarry with a loud almost plaintive sounding skree and then circled silently in the sky above.

Johnny smiled as he looked up at the circling bird, "Ah yes, that would be Atseeltsoii, the hawk. My people consider them to be messengers. She is the one who told me in my vision to come here, that she was watching over a young boy who needed my help."

"You talk to animals?" Bozer asked with skepticism and some concern about the sanity of the man who was helping them.

Johnny laughed as he unloaded his supplies and began to scan the area to see what he had to work with, "Yes, I talk with animals, but only when they have something to tell me. But it is not in the language you and I are speaking now, it is the language of dreams and visions. There are times however when an animal will speak to us in this world, you just have to know how to listen. Take Atseeltsoii here for example. The Hawk normally does not circle in the sky very long. They circle, spot their prey, dive in, and then swoop away. Atseeltsoii is telling us that there is something important below her."

Johnny paused in talking while he carefully walked to the edge of the quarry and peered down at the young boy clinging to the near vertical wall. Returning to the other young boy, he asked, "Wilt, do you know how long your friend has been there?"

Bozer thought about it for a moment, "Well the last time I saw him was Friday after school. I tried to get him to come over and spend the night at my house on Saturday, but he said he wanted to record some cosmic event. He agreed to come over for Sunday Brunch but he didn't show, so that is when I went looking for him."

"Hmm, so he has possibly been up here for close to two days." Johnny was worried about the state of the young boy if he has truly been clinging to the side of a rock wall for that long. "Did he make any sounds or move at all when you saw him?"

"He didn't move, but he did talk." Bozer replied, trying to be helpful. "He was really hard to hear, but he sounded really scared, and that's not like Mac. He's not afraid of anything."

"Okay," Johnny said as he began to set up his equipment and secure his ropes. "I am going to presume then that he won't be able to climb back up on his own. I'm going to need to call in some extra help so we can get him to the hospital as quickly as possible."

Taking a two way radio from his backpack, Johnny turned it on and keyed the mike. "Rescue Station 29, this is independent rescue 1, how do you read?"

"We read you 5 by 5 Johnny, what can we do for you?" came the reply.

"Hey Sam, I've got a young boy trapped on the northside of Geggor Quarry. I'm going to need a helicopter with a stokes and transport to Mission City Hospital." Johnny stated.

"We copy Johnny, we can have a bird at your location in 15 minutes." replied the man on the other end.

"Thanks Sam." Johnny said and then hooked it to the back of his belt. Reaching down into his pack he pulled out a flare and handed it to Bozer, "As soon as you see the helicopter I want you to light this flare. Do you know how to light one of these?"

Bozer nodded, "My friend Mac has used these before in some of the things he makes. He can make things out of the strangest stuff."

"Sounds like my kind of guy," Johnny said as he started uncoiling the rope and securing it to the base of a large tree.

Bozer watched in fascination as the man he met in the woods stepped into a climbing harness and fastened it and then pulled a large leather belt out of the pack and clipped it to the side of his harness. The man then grabbed the rest of the bundle of rope and his pack and walked toward the edge of the quarry.

Setting his stuff near the edge, Johnny peered over the edge once more at the frightened boy below and then turned to his friend, "Here's what's going to happen Wilt. I'm going to climb down there and hang out with your friend till the Helicopter comes. The helicopter is going to know where I am because they are going to see the flare that you light. Then they are going to lower a basket down to me and I will get your friend into the basket and then the helicopter will take your friend to the hospital. Once we are secured in the helicopter then I want you to run back to town and get his parents and have them meet us at the hospital. Okay?"

Bozer nodded again and watched as the man walked a couple steps away from where Mac was and threw the remainder of the rope over the side and then slide the backpack between the rough rocky ground at the edge and the rope.

Johnny pulled on the rope, testing his knots and then clipped his carabiner on to the rope. Positioning himself at the edge he leaned back and stepped backwards and down the side of the cliff. He quickly descended the 20 feet to where the boy clung to the side of the rock wall. Johnny's heart sank at what he saw. The kid was small and looked to be no more than 8 or 9 years old. The skin on his face and arms was tight and swollen and deep red from sunburn. His feet were resting on a ledge that couldn't have been more than 6 inches. His arms were flung out to either side, one hand grasping a small hand hold of a rock and the other hand had a death grip on a small scrub brush. His eyes were screwed shut and his breathing was so shallow it was almost indiscernible.

In as quiet and soothing voice as possible, so as not to spook the kid Johnny introduced himself, "Hey there, your friend up there said you might need some help. My name's Johnny. He says that you prefer to be called Mac." Getting no response, Johnny continued on, "I'm just going to come a little closer so we can see about getting you off the side of this cliff."

"NO!" Mac tried to shout but it came out in a horse cry, barely above a whisper. "D..don't come any c..closer, I'll fall."

"Well now, see, that's why I'm here, to make sure you don't fall and to get you secured until more help arrives." Johnny said. "In order to do so I'm going to have to get a little closer, okay?"

Mac didn't more or respond. His heart was pounding in his chest. Was someone really there to help him? Could they really get him to safety? He wanted to believe it, but he was so afraid that the slightest movement would topple him down the rest of the cliff.

Johnny could now see the slight quickening of respirations. He needed to get the boy calmed down fast. "Mac, I know you're scared, your afraid you're going to fall, and you don't know how to get out of this situation. I can promise you that I've done this so many times I've lost count and I haven't lost anyone yet. How about I explain to you exactly what I am doing so you know what to expect?"

This time Johnny got a small whispered "kay," from the kid.

"Okay, so first I'm going to take this special belt that I have and slide it behind you. Don't worry, I'll be right in front of you holding you securely against the wall. After I have the belt buckled onto you then I will secure it to my harness and to the rope. Once that is done, then there will be no way you can fall. Sound good to you?" Johnny asked with hope in his voice.

This got a small nod from Mac so Johnny proceeded with his plan. When he got in front of Mac he could feel the heat radiating off of him, the kid was an oven. Johnny quickly got the belt around the kid and secured him to the line and himself. "See," Johnny said with a smile in his voice, "that wasn't so bad, was it? Now that we have you secured, would you like a small sip of water?"

Mac nodded his head again and Johnny fished a small bottle out from the pack around his waist. Slowly holding it up to Mac's lips he let a little bit dribble across the kid's cracked lips. Mac cautiously opened his mouth and felt the cool water slide down his parched throat. He didn't want it to stop. He felt like he could drink a river. But the bottle was quickly pulled from his lips.

"Easy now," Johnny said cautioning the young boy, "You don't want to drink too much at one time. It'll make you sick."

After a few moments Johnny held the bottle back up to Mac's lips and let him finish the rest of the small bottle. Putting the empty bottle back in the pouch, Johnny heard the snap and the sizzle of the flare being lit and the faint whooping of the helicopter's blades in the distance.

"Okay Mac," Johnny said preparing the kid for the next steps in his extraction. "There is a helicopter that is coming and it is going to lower a basket to us. I need you to do one more thing for me, I need you to let go of the wall with your hands and wrap your arms around my neck. Okay?"

Mac's breaths increased as he shook his head, "Ca.. Can't l..l..let go."

"Sure you can buddy, trust me, I won't let you fall." Johnny said with encouragement.

"Trust you. Can't m.. move arms. Locked m..muscles." Mac explained.

"Ah, how long you been holding on like this" Johnny asked for the first time.

"Not.. Not ssure. F...Fell Fri..day night."

Johnny shook his head in amazement, "Okay, I'll tell you what, you say you trust me, so you have to trust me a little more." With out waiting for an affirmation Johnny reached over and peeled the boy's one hand off the rocky handhold and then gently lowered it to his side. A small whimper of pain escaped the kids mouth but nothing more. He repeated the process with the other hand that held fast to the scrub brush. As he pulled the young boy into him and wrapped his arms around him in a secure hold, he could feel bony shoulder blades and every rib. Johnny's heart clenched in sadness and anger. This was not the result of spending a couple nights without food or water, this was the result of months of malnourishment. Johnny knew first hand what that experience was like. Before he could ponder the living situation Mac came from, the helicopter was above them and the basket was being lowered down to them. Johnny made quick work of getting Mac secured into the basket and then straddling the basket and secured himself to the cable above. In a matter of moments both he and the young boy were safely aboard the helicopter and speeding toward the hospital.

Mac felt like he was flying, like the hawk that had kept vigil over him had gently lifted him off the side of the clift and carried him away. He could feel the cool rush of the air against his face and heard the steady beating of its wings. He didn't know where the hawk was taking him, but he knew that at last he could finally let go and as he did he welcomed the darkness and emptiness that enveloped him.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

_HI Everyone. This is the last chapter of this story. I hope I tied everything up for you. I do have a couple stories in mind, one of which is alluded to in this chapter and the other of which is a MacGyver / Magnum P.I crossover. Anyway, thank you all for reading this story and thank you for any feedback. It truly does encourage me to keep writing. It may be a little while till I get my next story out as I am preparing to get both my daughters off to college. I encourage you to read my other stories. The first one I posted here was Past Secrets and then they snowballed from there. Thanks again and as always I don't own these characters I just borrow them. (Quick side note, I don't know what Bozer's mom's name is so I made one up.)_

_**Mission City Hospital, March 2000**_

The next several hours were a rush and flurry of activity. While the helicopter was speeding toward the hospital, Bozer was speeding toward home. He was certain he had broken some sort of time record in making it home. He quickly filled his parents in on the highlights of what had happened and the three of them piled into the car and raced to the hospital. When they reached the hospital that is when they hit the proverbial brick wall. Because they were in no way related to Mac, the hospital staff would not and could not release any information on his status.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity to a 10 almost 11 year old boy, the mysterious man Bozer met in the woods came out from the back and the young boy rushed up to him. "How's Mac, is he going to be okay? Is he awake? Is he going to die? They won't tell us anything."

"Wilt!" came a stern voice from behind him as his father and mother approached. "You can't just go barging up to people demanding information." His father laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and extended his other hand to the man his son had accosted. "Wilt Bozer Sr," he introduced himself and shook hands. "This is my wife, Naomi. Please excuse our son, he is quite concerned about his friend. We all are. Angus has sort of become part of the family since we moved next door and the boys met up in school."

"John Gage," the other man replied, "and I can understand your son's concern. I have a friend who is the closest thing to family I have. I can tell you from past experiences that there were times where nothing would keep me from finding out the welfare of my friend. I had an advantage though in that I was a paramedic so I knew all the doctors and nurses."

"Can you ask them how he is? I just want to know if he is going to be okay." Bozer said with as much heartfelt pleading and desperation as he could muster.

"How about I do you one better." Johnny said as he guided the young boy and his family back to the chairs in the waiting room. "You see I've been back there with your friend as the doctor's were checking him out, and since I'm just a Good Samaritan who was helping out a person in need, I don't have any rules or regulations on who I can or can't talk to."

Over the next half hour, the former paramedic turned volunteer rescuer filled the Bozer family in on Mac's condition. Although the boy was in rough condition with severe sunburn, dehydration, malnutrition, sprained ankle, broken ribs and various other scrapes and contusions, he was in very capable hands and should make a full recovery in no time.

Johny then turned the tables and started asking the concerned family some questions. "Can you tell me a little bit about Angus' family and home life?"

"Well, from what we've been told, his mother passed away from cancer when Angus was 5. It's just been him and James, his father, ever since." Wilt Sr. advised Johnny.

"Angus' grandfather Henry, Jame's father, comes and stays with Angus whenever James has to travel for work," supplied Naomi. "And from what I've seen, James travels a lot."

"Does Angus get along with his father and grandfather?" Johnny probed further.

"Angus adores his grandfather. Henry is always helping him build things or helping him with various experiments. I swear someday that boy is going to blow something up." Naomi said with a smile.

"What about his father, James?" Johny pressed.

Wilt Sr. spoke up, "That man is 'difficult' to figure out. I'm sure he loves his son, but he has a different way of showing it. I've never seen him raise a hand to Angus or even raise his voice at the boy, but he seems to be very stern with Angus. If Angus has a problem, I've seen James simply instruct his son that there is a solution to every problem and that he just needs to apply himself better. Angus will go to any lengths to solve the problem and get his dad's praise."

Johnny looked thoughtful for a few moments before asking the question at the heart of the matter, "Has Angus ever been left alone for extended periods of time?"

Wilt Sr and Naomi looked puzzled. Finally Naomi spoke up, "No, not that we've ever noticed. His father is usually only gone for a week or two at the most and his grandfather is always right there."

"Who's watching Angus now?" Johnny pressed.

"You know, I'm not really certain." Wilt Sr. replied. Turning to his son he inquired, "Wilt, you've been over to Angus' house recently. Who is there with him?"

Bozer, who didn't like the turn this conversation had taken, tried his best to disappear.

"Come to think of it, it is strange that neither James nor Henry are here." Naomi spoke up, "Wilt, is there something you aren't telling us?"

Bozer was in a dilemma, he had pinky swore to his best friend not to tell. But his friend's well being was at stake, and his mom had asked him a direct question, and he couldn't lie to his mom.

Bozer looked down at the ground and quietly said to himself, "I'm sorry Mac, I've got to tell, it's for your own good." Looking up at the concerned faces of the three adults he told them of his conversation with Mac on Friday after school.

"Please don't make Mac go into foster care. If he does then he will have to move away and I won't be able to look after him," Bozer pleaded.

Bozer's mother hugged him tight and his dad rested a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry son, we'll figure something out," his mom said while comforting him.

MMMMMMMMMMM

It wasn't until several hours later that one of the doctors finally came out to talk with the family. He explained that they finally got a hold of Angus' grandfather Henry, who had just returned from his cabin in the mountains to his place in Las Angeles. Henry, who had power of guardianship over Angus, gave the hospital permission to provide any and all information concerning Angus' condition.

When they were finally allowed to briefly visit Angus in his room, Wilt was terrified by what he saw. His friend was covered in cooling cloths from head to toe, his eyes were covered with gauze pads, and he was hooked up to so many tubes and wires. He slowly approached the bed and peered down at his friend. Looking up at his parents, there were silent tears running down his cheeks. "He didn't have anyone. No one cared, no one went looking for him. He was all alone mom."

"He has you Wilt," his mom said hugging him close. "You cared, you went looking for him. And from here on out he has us too. We'll talk to his dad and his grandfather and if there is ever a time when they both can't be there for some reason, Angus will stay with us. We will make certain that THIS never happens again."

Wilt hugged his mom back with all his might, then wiping the tears from his face he turned back to his friend with resolve. Reaching over the bars he put his hand on his friend's thigh and squeezed it gently, "I promise you Mac, you will NEVER EVER be alone again."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

_**Present day, on a noisy plane, a little closer to L.A. and home.**_

"So you see, that was the first time Mac was totally unable to figure out the answer to a problem. That genius brain of his couldn't find a way to get off that cliff." Bozer said as he finished telling the story.

"So in his mind, the solution then was to avoid ever being in that situation again, and thus Acrophobia, the fear of heights." Desi said with understanding.

Riley nodded and added, "I'm sure it didn't help that he had all but been abandoned by anyone he ever felt close to." She could relate to some degree in that area.

"Yeah, as I said, after that Sunday, I made sure that never happened again. When Harry, Mac's grandfather arrived and officially became his guardian, my parents met with him and had a long talk. It was decided that whenever Henry had to go back to L.A. or to the cabin then Mac would come and stay with us. Ever since then I've made it a point to make sure Mac would never feel like he'd been abandoned again." Bozer said resolutely. "The only other time that came close to happening was when he was in Afghanistan and a certain 'thick-headed Delta' that he had been having to 'put up with' for 64 days was rotating home. But that's another story."

"I'll look forward to hearing that one." Desi said with a smile.

A gentle course of laughter bubbled up from the group

In the back of the plane Mac drifted toward consciousness. 'When had he fallen asleep' was his first thought and then he remembered a soft gentle song and the feeling of family and security. Opening his eyes just enough to scan his surroundings he took in the eight sleeping figures in the back. Ben and Isabell were tightly curled together, simultaneously giving and taking strength from each other. Mac smiled, they would be okay, they had each other and loving families waiting for them at home.

Mac then let his gaze wander to the front of the plane where his friends… no, his family, huddled together in conversation. Closing his eyes again, Mac slipped back into a light sleep, remembering the first time he learned what the true meaning of 'family' was.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

_**Back in 2000, in a quiet hospital room in Mission City CA.**_

A quiet figure sat in a chair, in a darkened room, next to a hospital bed that held a sleeping young boy. His hand rested on the small thigh under the sheets, lending comfort and support. John Gage knew from first hand experience that waking up in a hospital bed, all alone, especially after a traumatic event was very frightening. Visiting hours were over and Mac's friend Bozer had grudgingly gone home; but only after begging Johnny, who had dropped by to see how they were doing, to stay with Mac until he could come back in the morning. It didn't take much convincing, Johnny had already secured permission from the hospital staff on duty, who were very familiar with Johnny checking up on the victims he rescues.

An increase in breaths and a slight twitching of muscles alerted Johnny that the young boy was starting to wake up. A small frightened whimper escaped Mac's lips and Johnny gently squeezed his thigh in reassurance. "Shh, it's okay, you're safe now. You're in the hospital."

"Dad?" came Mac's small whispered tentative voice.

"It's Johnny," the voice identified itself. "I don't know how much you remember, but we met on the side of a cliff."

Mac gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "Is my dad coming?" Mac asked, not wanting to know the answer he knew would be given to him.

"I'm sorry Mac, the hospital staff couldn't get a hold of your dad. Your grandfather should be here tomorrow though. He just has to arrange for someone to watch his place in L.A. and then he will be driving up." Johnny supplied.

Mac was quiet and still for several minutes. Johnny had almost thought the kid had fallen back asleep when a sad voice spoke up again. "He doesn't need to come. I can take care of myself."

Johnny shook his head, "He's your grandfather, I'm sure he wants to be here for you."

Mac's voice got even quieter, "He'll just have to leave again in a couple weeks. Everyone always leaves... my mom, my dad."

"Your friend Bozer didn't leave you. If he had his way he would still be here if the hospital would allow it." Johnny said encouragingly. "He told me to tell you that he would be back the second visiting hours allowed."

"He's coming back?" Mac's voice rose with a little bit of hope.

"I'm betting that wild horses wouldn't stop him." Johnny said with a chuckle. "You know Mac, family is not only who you are born to in this life, it is also who you choose along the way"

A small tentative smile graced Mac's face, "Bozer doesn't like horses, you might want to change that to a pack of wild dogs."

"He doesn't know what he's missing. Horses are wonderful graceful creatures." Johnny said with a crooked grin.

"I like horses." Mac replied

Johnny's grin got bigger. "Well now, maybe when you are feeling better you can come out to my place and we can go riding sometime. I've got a small ranch about 30 minutes west of here."

"I'd like that." Mac said around a yawn. A few moments of silence passed before Mac tentatively spoke up again, "Johnny, would you be my friend?.

"Angus MacGyver, I would be honored to be your friend." Johnny said as another yawn escaped from Mac. "Now why don't you get some more sleep before the nurses come in and accuse me of keeping you awake."

As Mac drifted off to sleep Johnny got up and stretched and then walked over to the window to look out side. He looked out across the parking lot and quickly spotted the large bird sitting on one of the light poles.

"Thank you Atseeltsoii for watching over this young boy and guiding me to him. He now has family and friends that will be watching out for him. You may return to your own family." Johnny spoke quietly.

With a few beats of strong wings, the Hawk lifted off from the lamp post and disappeared into the early morning sky.


End file.
